


Atoning

by ComeAlongPond14



Series: 10xRose [1]
Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Comfort Sex, Comfort/Angst, Domme Rose, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Light Dom/sub
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-13
Updated: 2013-11-13
Packaged: 2018-01-01 08:52:07
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,560
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1042878
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ComeAlongPond14/pseuds/ComeAlongPond14
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Doctor asks Rose to help him atone for what he did to Gallifrey.</p><p>Also on my LJ.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Atoning

**Author's Note:**

> More long-ago-written Doctor Who smut!

Rose woke alone, her room bathed in the pale blue light that seemed to glow from the walls of the TARDIS herself. The sheets were rumpled, and the pillow beside her was still indented from where the Doctor’s head had been. Rose smoothed her hand across it, feeling the coolness of the empty bed. A glance across the room showed that he hadn’t gotten dressed again; his pinstriped brown jacket, shirt, and tie were still haphazardly draped over the back of the desk chair, though his shoes were gone. Her own clothes were piled on the floor in a messy heap.

She sighed and leaned back against the headboard, running a hand through her bed-mussed hair. It had been several months since the playful flirtation and unspoken desire between them had bloomed into something entirely new and wonderful. One day they’d been exploring a garden that was supposedly the original home of fairies, and the Doctor had brought her the most beautiful rose she’d ever seen. He’d tucked the flower behind her ear, smiling at her in that gentle way he had, and she had impulsively given in to the desire that had been with her since before he’d regenerated into this handsome, lean body--and she’d kissed him.

It had clearly startled him, but he did not pull back; he’d even kissed her back, almost timidly. The sweet way his lips brushed hers had filled her with warmth and longing, but then her senses had returned, and she’d pulled away with a blush and a murmured apology. The look in his eyes assured her she didn’t need to be sorry, but she had still retreated to the TARDIS, embarrassed yet hopeful.

And sure enough, he’d come to her room that night, slipping in and moving to the bed with silent steps, knowing that she was only pretending to still be asleep as he crept to the other side of the wide bed, drawing back the covers and slipping in beside her. He had touched her shoulder gently, rolling her onto her back, and as she stared up at him questioningly, he’d stroked her hair back from her face, and smiled. His voice was so soft and full of love. “It was never one-sided,” he’d told her, then leaned down and kissed her.

There had been no more hesitation or nervousness. Rose’s mouth had opened under his, their lips molding together and his tongue sliding in to explore the contours of her mouth. Her hands had tangled into his short, fantastic hair, and she felt a soft groan reverberate through his body as she twisted to press her body against his. The Doctor’s arms slipped around her waist, dragging her closer, and she’s instinctively hitched her right leg up, wrapping it around his hip.

It seemed to break the dam. The Doctor had moaned deeply, a primitive and needful sound that went straight between Rose’s legs. She had ground herself against him, feeling his body respond, gasping as he rolled them so that she was trapped beneath him. She felt his fingers slip beneath the thin silk of the camisole she’d worn to bed, pushing it slowly up. For a moment they sat up together, just long enough for him to slide the garment up and over her head. It was discarded. Her fingers made quick work of the buttons of his shirt, dragging it down his arms to join hers on the floor. Their bodies came together with a need that had been suppressed far too long, desperation and love making them clutch at one another as he worshipfully ran his hands over every inch of her skin that he could reach.

That first night together, it was not about exploring every detail of one another’s bodies. It wasn’t about examining every possible way each could bring pleasure to the other. Those were important as well, and there would be time for that. So much time, all of it in fact, and the knowledge of that made it easier to simply enjoy their consummation, at last.

She could remember the love in his eyes as he had drawn her cotton shorts and panties down her legs, leaving her bare. The way his fingers had traced up the inside of her calf, her knee, her thigh, treating her like something fragile or breakable. The tenderness in his kiss as he leaned over her, his fingers at last reaching their goal, touching her more intimately than she had ever dreamed he would, stoking a fire in her that made her toss her head back and whisper heatedly, “Please, Doctor, please!”

He had smiled, that crooked, knowing little half-smirk that had always made her body liquify with desire. She’d heard the zipper of his trousers descend, and her eyes dropped to take in the unbelievable sight of her Doctor holding his cock, teasing her with it as she trembled with need. She’d given him a glare, reaching down to take matters into her own hands--literally. Things had moved quickly from there. The Doctor sank into her body with an almost prayerful groan which she had matched, breath for breath, as they began to move, the pleasure of his hard flesh driving in and out of hers almost too much for Rose to bear.

He’d held her close and made love to her, and when his hips had been to pound faster against hers, and his breaths became soft grunts, Rose had wrapped her arms around his neck and murmured into his ear, “Please, Doctor, I need to feel you finish inside me...” And that had been all it had taken; he’d surrendered to her, thrusting helplessly until they both reached climax, gasping her name and burying his face in her neck. He’d rolled onto his side, cradling her to his chest, and they’d stayed there together in her bed, falling asleep in one another’s arms. And every night after that, he came to her room when he was done tinkering at the console or studying some odd specimen he’d found or reading in his ridiculously immense library, and he’d slip into bed beside her, and they would lose themselves in beautiful oblivion.

But tonight she woke by herself, which was unusual. He always stayed the whole night, and he always waited in bed, or at least in the room, until she awoke in the morning; he didn’t like letting her feel alone. Slowly she left the bed, grabbing her pink silk robe from the end of the bed and slipping it on.

She padded from the room, glancing briefly down the hallway towards where the Doctor’s actual bedroom was, as well as his library, but both doorways were pitch black. She knew he wouldn’t have left her to sleep alone; there was intense sadness and loneliness in her poor Doctor’s heart, even when he was in bed with her, but not enough for him to leave her.

Rose passed the console room, but she couldn’t see him there. The TARDIS hummed quietly, tranquil and sleepy. The atmosphere did not feel tense, and yet Rose sensed something wrong. Frustrated, she crossed the hall and pushed open the first door she came to.

And there he was. The room was dark except for a single lamp, which glowed faintly on the opposite wall, casting a very dim circle of light over the Doctor. He was crouched before a great glance window, which showed the incredible nebula they were drifting above. His shoulders were hunched, his head bowed, as though he were carrying a great weight. Rose walked toward him, her footsteps muffled by the thick, TARDIS blue carpet that filled the room.

When she reached him, she paused, suddenly feeling uncertain about touching him. She wanted to, but there was something in the still way he sat, not even glancing at her, that unnerved her. She felt as though she were stepping into something very dark and personal in the Doctor’s world.

At last he spoke, and his voice sent shivers of unease through her; it was as though he was talking from a great distance away. “I come here, sometimes, when I realize how much I still haven’t forgiven myself for the past. I stood in this room on the worst day of my life, watching my homeworld burn. I watched from this window as everything that had raised and shaped me into the man I was crumbled into ash and rock. And then I walked out and flew away.”

Rose swallowed hard. “You said you didn’t have a choice.”

A bitter smile tugged at his mouth. “I believe that. And yet all I can think of is how little I deserve to live, if I was willing to doom my own species to die that way.”

Rose’s hand clenched into a fist at her side. “Don’t say that, Doctor. Don’t you dare think about leaving me.”

His brown eyes sliced to hers, filled with remorse and self-loathing. Tilting his head to the side, he brushed his lips across her fist in the gentlest kiss. “I never would, Rose Tyler. I promise.”

The panic gripping her heart subsided, and she gently reached up, running her hands through his ruffled brown hair. “Good,” she whispered back, her tone still stern.

Something dark passed through the Doctor’s eyes, and Rose felt an unexpected ripple of pleasure go through her. Her hand continued to caress his hair and face, her fingers tracing the lines of his weary face. Her gaze drifted down, taking in the way the light of the nebula played across his bare chest and abdomen. His belt was done a few notches too loosely, letting his trousers hang sensually low on his hips. She could see the waistband of his pants, rising an inch or so above the hem of his trousers. His weathered white Converse were on, but the laces weren’t tied. Overall, her Doctor looked sleepy, disheveled, and incredibly sexy. Rose licked her lips thoughtfully.

The Doctor suddenly reached up, taking both her hands and drawing her down towards him. She followed, spreading her legs to straddle his lap as he sank back. He sat down with his legs outstretched, bent slightly at the knees, and Rose wrapped her legs around him, her arms going loosely around his neck. Their eyes met with a surge of desire, but as Rose leaned forward to kiss him, his hands at her waist restrained her. She raised a curious eyebrow.

He swallowed hard. “I want to ask you to something for me, Rose.”

Blinking, she nodded. “Of course. You know I’d do anything for you.”

The Doctor’s eyes closed briefly, and when they reopened they held a fire that stunned her with its intensity. He looked as though he was burning from the inside out.

“I can tell myself that I had no choice, and I can convince myself that I would be forgiven by my fellow Time Lords, that they’d understand why. I can lie to others if I choose, and pretend that I am not responsible for the genocide and extinction of multiple species. But I cannot forgive myself. I cannot forget the sight of my home burning. Thousands dying. All because of me.”

He took a breath, and Rose started to speak, wanting to tell him to forget all of this and abandon himself in her, to let her love hold the horror in his head at bay. But he stopped her with a finger over her lips, his eyes searing into hers with a heat that made her realize that what he was saying was not about hurting himself with these memories; he was seeking absolution. She closed her mouth, and he spoke again.

“I want...no...I need...to experience....catharsis. To feel as though I’ve paid my penance. To....”

“Atone,” Rose whispered, and she was as surprised as he was that she had spoken.

The Doctor’s face softened, a look of pleading filling his eyes. “Yes,” he said hoarsely. “I need to atone. And I think I can only do that if I give myself over to the same helplessness, agony, and powerlessness to escape that I inflicted on my kinsmen.” His hands closed over her wrists, and Rose’s breath caught as his face set with determination. “I need to be punished for what I did to them, Rose. Do you think you can help me?”

Rose was speechless. She had never considered herself an aggressive or dominant woman, and when it came to dating--though admittedly her experience was hardly extensive--she had certainly never thought about being a Dominatrix, or anything like it. She had just never contemplated the idea of holding power over another person that way.

Yet somehow, seeing the way the Doctor was curled beneath her, his face full of a need to submit to her and receive some kind of penalty for his actions of centuries before....it was an intoxicating mental image. Rose licked her lips again, noticing the way his eyes tracked the flash of movement, and then she smiled. She understood what he was asking for, what he wanted, but even though it was deadly serious for him, she saw the potential for a great game for herself.

She nodded, rolling her hips so that she rose gracefully to her feet, still straddling him. His gaze darted downward and then back up, and Rose swallowed a giggle as she remembered that she was still bare beneath her silk robe. No matter. “I’ll help you,” she told him, and the relief in his eyes reassured her. Cupping his face between her palms, she bent down and kissed his lips tenderly. “Right. You find anything and everything you’re okay with me using on you, alright? Just so we don’t have to worry about me crossing any limits of yours. I’m going to get changed.”

She left without looking back, knowing he’d obey. She had no idea if or where he’d keep kinky sex toys in the TARDIS, but she knew he’d come up with something. Returning to her own room, Rose slipped a pair of lace panties on under the robe, then fished out her favorite pair of stilettos--which she did NOT get to wear often enough. This was the perfect chance. After a moment’s debate, she went ahead and added a matching bra beneath the robe, figuring it would help with teasing him. It was a push-up, too, which was quite nice--she was already well-endowed, but now she just looked delicious. This would be fun. Grabbing his tie in a last minute burst of inspiration, she headed back.

When she re-entered the room with the window, her breath caught. He was back in front of the glass, kneeling this time. His hands rested on his thighs, and his head was bowed again. On the floor a few feet from him were the objects he had chosen, and Rose’s heart rate picked up when she saw what he had.

A pair of steel handcuffs lay beside a black leather riding crop, as well as a flogger, a leather collar, and a violet wand. She was quite impressed with his collection. A small part of her wondered when he’d gotten all of it, and for whom, but she put it out of her mind. This was about him.

She approached him, watching the way his shoulders rippled with tension as he listened to her movements. Smiling faintly, she held up his tie and let it dangle in front of his eyes. “May I?” she asked softly, knowing he’d understand her meaning. He nodded, shivering slightly, and Rose leaned forward, gently looping the tie around his eyes and making a simple knot, blindfolding him.

His breath hitched, but he did not move away. She could only imagine the difficulty he had surrendering even that much control. Her fingers slid through his hair, tenderness for her Time Lord conveyed easily by her touch. He relaxed.

Picking up the handcuffs, she secured his hands behind his back, smiling as he tested their hold. He wasn’t getting free anytime soon. After a moment’s deliberation, she took the collar as well, latching it around his throat, stunned by how much it aroused her to see him collared. She could not have explained it. Perhaps it was the way it seemed to restrain his normally boundless confidence. She felt as though she owned him somehow as she gazed down at him, shackled, blinded, and collared.

Amused, she took up the flogger and let the leather strands splay lightly across his flexing shoulders. The Doctor shuddered, his arms flexing hard as though he wanted to rip free of the cuffs, but that wasn’t going to happen. Rose leaned forward, letting him feel her breath on his ear as she continued to trail the flogger along his skin.

“Why are you here, Doctor?” She was shocked by the cool detachment in her voice, but also pleased. She sounded ready to dominate.

The Doctor seemed to agree. His voice was scratchy and rough with lust when he answered. “Because I need to punished.”

Rose raised her eyebrows, thrilled to discover that she seemed to have instincts for this; her response his words came naturally. With a flick of her wrist, the flogger struck his shoulders sharply, making his gasp very softly at the unexpected feeling--though it didn’t hurt yet. Rose’s voice was chilly. “If that’s the case, I think you’ll need to remember to address me with a bit more respect, don’t you? Let’s try that again, this time recalling who is in charge.” Another light snap of the flogger, a soft groan from the Doctor, and Rose asked almost pleasantly, “Why are you here?”

His breathing was labored with arousal, and an edge of something else...something pleading. “Because I need to be punished, Miss Tyler.”

Rose couldn’t help but grin, but she managed to keep her voice cool. “That’s better.” Discarding the flogger, she selected the violet rod. “Why do you need to be punished, Doctor?” Raising the thin plastic tool, she traced its point across his shoulders, where the skin was now slightly reddened from the flogger. The Doctor must have guessed which toy he was feeling, because a shudder run through his entire body. Glancing around at his lap, Rose could see that it was a happy shudder; there was a tell-tale bulge in the front of his trousers that made her lick her lips with excitement.

He was struggling to speak. “Because...I’ve done...terrible things. I’ve...destroyed so many lives...worlds. I need to suffer like they did.”

Rose’s mouth quirked down on one side. She tangled her fingers in his hair, drawing his head back and making him sigh with pleasure as she spoke softly to his face. “No, not like they did, Doctor. You promised not to leave me, and you are going to keep that promise. You won’t die.”

Releasing his hair a touch roughly, she stepped back behind him, turning on the wand so that he could hear the faint hum of electricity. As he trembled, Rose reached forward and slapped his face, not too hard, and savored the surprised--but very aroused--whimper he let out. Then she lowered the wand, turning it to a low setting and letting it strike his shoulders lightly. The shock made him jump, and he moaned as she applied it to him a few more times, turning the power up slightly each time. Between taps, she spoke quietly, so that he had to quiet down to hear her. “But if you need pain, I can give you that, Doctor. My Doctor."

She moved in front of him and tapped again, this time on his side. The Doctor jerked, the cuffs rattling as he shied away, but Rose didn’t allow him to escape it. She kept the shocks coming, spreading them at random across his sides and stomach. She avoided his chest--though she supposed that with two hearts he’d be fine--but she didn’t like the idea. He seemed content as it was, his body shaking and little gasps and moans slipping from him as the shocks came swiftly and unexpectedly.

Abruptly Rose felt frustratingly too turned on by the sight before her. Setting the violet wand down, she yanked the tie away from his eyes, letting it fall as well. His gaze met hers, and the blazing pleasure and relief she saw there was both reassuring and arousing. She untied her robe, letting it fall open to bare her body to him. His eyes were slightly glazed as he stared up at her, his lips parted with a mixture of awe and hunger.

She stepped closer to him, mere centimeters between his face and her thighs. His eyes darted up to hers, then down to gaze at her clothed pussy. Rose fisted her hand in his hair, seeing him wince in pain even as he let out a breathy moan of gratitude. She forced his head back, making him look in her eyes. “I need a little relief of my own, Doctor.” Picking up the riding crop, she stood in front of him, dragging her panties to one side.

The Doctor swayed forward, and Rose used her grip on his hair to push him back again, making him wince again. His eyes shone brightly, and she realized they had tears in them, though she didn’t know if it was from the physical pain she was inflicting on him, or from the emotional wounds he was cauterizing through that pain. In either case, there was the faintest hint of a tight-lipped smile on his face, so she knew it was alright to press on.

She met his gaze scoldingly. “I didn’t say to move.” Her commanding tone seemed to drive his blood straight south, as he moaned and arched his back, making her smile. With one stiletto-clad foot, she nudged his erection carefully, and he grunted and leaned into the contact, his forehead creasing as if with pain, and yet an oddly euphoric smile twisting his features. Rose could feel herself getting wetter, which she didn’t understand at all, but she went with it willingly.

Bringing his head forward, she held the crop above his back and traced the tip over the pronounced curve of his shoulder blade, watching the still-pink flesh ripple from the deceptively gentle touch. Her voice was perfectly cool and assertive. “You will pleasure me until I stop you. Your cue will be the end of the whipping.” She saw the positive effect her words had on his erection, and she smiled down at him, her heart squeezing with affection. “Start.”

The Doctor leaned forward until his nose brushed the faint dusting of damp golden hair above her mound. His eyes jumped up to meet hers, and Rose’s breath hissed out as, still holding her gaze, his tongue darted out to taste her.

They had not done this activity yet, and somehow, adding it to tonight’s list of “firsts” was more incredible than Rose could have imagined. It took her a second to move past the unbelievable bliss of feeling his probing tongue explore her wet flesh, and the gentle suction he applied to her clit, and remember that the crop was in her hand. Swiftly she raised it, bringing it down as hard as she could manage with the pleasure coursing through her. It struck the same shoulder blade she had been caressing, and the Doctor groaned deeply into her pussy as she raised it, leaving a faint red mark behind. Again she brought it down, and again, striking hard and leaving red marks in a random formation across his shoulders and spine. As she did, his ministrations to her cunt became more frenzied and passionate, and his groans of mingled pain and pleasure became more desperate.

As she neared her orgasm, Rose shifted her weight and against applied one foot very gently to his rock-hard cock, still beating him with the crop, and pressing down with careful pressure as he hissed out a pained gasp, burying his face in her pussy as though to hide from the pain she was delivering. Rose shattered, the crop dropping from her hand as her fingers twisted into his hair, pressing his face to her cunt and arching her hips as she came. She could feel his tongue lapping up her juices as they flowed, and a shudder ran through her as the waves of pleasure slowly faded. A soft sigh escaped her as she stepped back, tugging her panties back into place.

The Doctor gazed at her wordlessly, his eyes glassy and his lips shining with her cum. Rose laughed breathlessly, reaching out to wipe her fingertips across his mouth. His lips parted, she slipped her moist fingers in, letting him suckle them clean.

Stepping behind him again, she slipped back into her robe and inspected the marks left by the crop. His shoulders were patterned with red lines and rectangles, some deeper than others. Rose’s fingers traced over them, making him groan and drop his head. She smiled faintly. “Do you feel punished, Doctor?”

His voice was low as he addressed the carpeted floor. “I think so.”

For a single heartbeat, she longed to let him go, to uncuff him and take him to bed and just hold him. But she knew he wouldn’t want that. He needed to answer that question, and it had to be decisive, and he needed to her to force him to say it.

Grabbing the flogger, she stood behind him, lifted her left foot, and pressed it down on his back. His body bowed forward, and a sound of pure, raw need emerged from him, driving the post-coital lethargy right out of Rose. She was hot and bothered and ready again, and she intended to work the self-loathing out of him, then get him inside her.

She swung the flogger again, letting the leather lashes strike his shoulders above and beside her foot, the raised sole of the shoe protecting her from the blows. The Doctor’s shoulders flexed and rolled beneath the onslaught, his wrists pulling the handcuff chain taut as he took the hits with primitive groans of pleasure. His flesh reddened and began to bruise, and in a few places, she could see the skin threatening to break, to let the blood rush free. In one or two spots, it did, as the leather continued to fall without any slack in the weight of the blows, thin lines of red appearing, and smearing as she kept on. At one point she realized he was speaking to himself, muttering in an agonized voice about the sight of Gallifrey burning. Without hesitation she dropped the flogger, not letting her foot fall, and seized the violet wand. Turning it on high, she began to tap it against his shoulders again, letting the shocks give him the burning pain he was feeling in his mind. The Doctor’s head fell back with a heart-wrenching moan of agony, his body swaying back and forth as though unable to decide whether to lunge away from the objecting tormenting him, or lean into it. Rose did not pause, pressing him down with her foot and shocking him every few seconds, occasionally even letting the wand linger, causing him to yelp as it left a faint red burn mark on his flesh. Her heart constricted for him, but still he did not stop her.

Then suddenly, between the moans and gasps, she heard his voice, barely above a whisper. “Rose...”

She let the violet wand fall, and she pushed off from his back with a gentle shove that made his body fall forward, his head nearly touching his knees. Rose crouched, unlocking the handcuffs swiftly and letting them fall. The Doctor kept his hands behind him, his fingers interlocking.

Rose slipped around in front of him, crouching down to meet his tortured gaze. He had tears on his face, and his lips were parted as he panted softly. His cheeks were flushed, and she could almost make out the faint handprint where she’d slapped him, though it already felt like hours had passed. Her fingertips traced his features, her eyes boring into his. “Doctor, is it done?”

The Doctor gazed unseeingly past her for a moment longer, and then he seemed to focus on her. His eyes darkened and seemed to burn with a light she had never seen in them before, as though he was experiencing something new and incredible deep inside himself. He licked his lips, then let out a soft sob, his hands coming forward and rising to cradle her face gently. “Yes, Miss Tyler, it’s done,” he whispered back.

Relief washed over her. She almost smiled. “I’m not finished with you, though.” His eyes widened slightly, but she just pulled away from his hands, and dropped hers to his belt buckle. The Doctor gave a strangled moan of pleasure as Rose unzipped his trousers, freeing his cock. Dropping to her knees for a moment, she took him into her mouth, sucking him in as deeply as she could, lubricating him with her saliva. The Doctor groaned loudly and arched into her touch; he tried to grasp her hair, but she batted his hands away, and he surrendered to her control once more, gripping his thighs to resist taking over.

When she was satisfyingly sure that he was aching and ready to explode, Rose pulled back, grasping his hair again and yanking him forward. The Doctor let out a sound almost like a growl as he fell over her, her legs wrapping around his waist and rubbing her soaking pussy against his erection. Their eyes met, his wide and desperate, hers bright and ready. “Let it go, Doctor,” she whispered hoarsely. “Let the memories go, and let yourself go, in me. Bury yourself in me and forget the pain, now."

He didn’t need to be ordered again. Lifting her hips to meet his and pushing her panties aside, he thrust inside her, and Rose arched back with a cry of pleasure as he claimed her. His body felt harder and stronger than ever before, and for the first time, she felt as though he was truly with her, his mind and soul as involved as his body. She could only clutch at him as he pounded into her, their cries and moans dissolving into one voice as they fucked until they both climaxed, and Rose fell back against the carpet with a heady moan of pleasure as she felt his seed fill her once again, seeping deeply inside her and making her feel more alive than she ever had before.

When he finally withdrew from her and sat up, tracing his fingers absently along her stomach and thighs, Rose glanced at his broad back. The blood had dried, the scars looking hauntingly beautiful in the pulsing light of the nebula. She raised a hand and traced over the bruises with one finger, feeling him shiver. A half smile touched her lips.

“Do you feel punished, Doctor?”

He lay back down beside her, gazing at her as though seeing her for the first time. He raised one hand to trace over her cheeks tenderly. “I feel...I feel whole,” he said softly. “As though I’m...I don’t know, I feel as though I’ve found some sort of peace.”

Rose took his hand and kissed his palm. “Atoned?” she asked quietly, and now he did smile at her. “Yes, Miss Tyler, atoned,” he answered, propping himself up on one elbow to lean over her and kiss her lips.

When he raised his head, she saw that the darkness was not entirely gone from his gaze. He ran a finger over her lips, keeping her silent. “I’ll never be completely free of it,” he told her truthfully. “I’ll always know what I did, and no amount of beatings, fucking or bleeding will erase it.”

Then he smiled again, that cocky little smile that Rose liked to pretend was just for her. “But you have saved me, Rose Tyler. You’ve taken away so much of the hatred I’ve carried for myself. For that, I can never properly repay you.”

Rose nestled against his chest, feeling his arms wrapping protectively around her. “You do every day, Doctor,” she murmured. “You don’t owe me anything.”

He chuckled softly, and Rose gasped in surprise as he got to his feet abruptly, gathering her up into his arms with excessive care, treating her, as always, as though she were fragile. “Well, I certainly owe you an actual bed to sleep in, at any rate.”

Cuddled against her Doctor’s chest, Rose sighed in contentment, one hand looped comfortably around his neck. Her fingers traced over scars she’d just inflicted on him, but she dismissed the tug of remorse. He said it helped him, and she trusted him. If nothing else, it brought her closer to him, showing her insight into the turmoil and chaos of the last Time Lord’s mind.

As he laid her down to sleep, his lips brushing hers in a sweet kiss, he whispered that he was going to go wash off. Rose smiled sleepily, nuzzling down into the covers, and waited for her Doctor to come back to bed.


End file.
